Paper products are an integral part of all industrialized economies today in spite of the recent rise of the green movement to go “paperless.” Every year, Americans use more than 90 million tons of paper and paperboard. That's an average of 700 pounds of paper products per person each year. Every year in America, more than 2 billion books, 350 million magazines, and 24 billion newspapers are published. The United States is the world's leading producer of paper and paperboard, with over 500 mills in operation. Worldwide, there are approximately 10,000 mills producing about 300 million metric tons of paper and paperboard each year. The United States alone produces about 87 million metric tons of paper and paperboard, representing nearly one-third of the world's total production. Tree based products include paper, paper cups, paper plates, envelopes, cardboard packaging, containers, and boxes to name just a few. Paperboard is the stiff type of paper often referred to as “cardboard.” Paperboard is used in food packaging (such as cereal boxes), and is used to make many other types of products such as shoe boxes, video game boxes, book covers, etc.
In the papermaking process, wood is first chipped into small pieces. Then water and heat, and sometimes chemicals, are added to separate the wood into individual fibers. The fiber is mixed with lots of water (and often recycled fiber), and then this pulp slurry is sprayed onto a huge flat wire screen which is moving very quickly through the paper machine. Water drains out and the fibers bond together. The web of paper is pressed between rolls which squeeze out more water and press it to make a smooth surface. Heated rollers then dry the paper, and the paper is slit into smaller rolls, and sometimes into sheets, and removed from the paper machine. Producing paper is a complicated process which requires huge amounts of energy while resulting in significant amounts of waste material.
Paper production accounts for about 35% of felled trees, and represents 1.2% of the world's total economic output. Recycling one ton of newsprint saves about 1 ton of wood while recycling 1 ton of printing or copier paper saves slightly more than 2 tons of wood. Trees raised specifically for pulp production only account for 16% of world pulp production, old growth forests account for 9% and second—and third—and more generation forests account for the balance. Most pulp mill operators practice reforestation to ensure a continuing supply of trees, however future demand is constantly increasing due to the ever present human population increase. It has been estimated that recycling half the world's paper would avoid the harvesting of 20 million acres (81,000 km2) of forestland.
Plastics are also an integral part of industrialized economies. Plastics are typically petroleum based and require huge amounts of processing, energy and costs to produce. Unfortunately, petroleum is derived from crude oil which is currently in limited supply and high demand. Less than half of every barrel of crude oil extracted from the ground is refined into gasoline. The rest of the barrel is used in the production of an estimated 57 other major types of goods—goods like kerosene, asphalt, antifreeze, cleaning fluids, laundry detergents, paint, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, hygiene products, diapers, dvds, and even the waxes in chewing gum. To further complicate matters, oil is primarily purchased from hostile and politically unstable nations located in the Middle East. Plastic products are also typically not biodegradable which leads to disposal problems once the life of the product is over.
As can be appreciated and understood, finding a viable alternative to tree-based and petroleum-based products which are cheaper, requires less energy to manufacture and are biodegradable would result in economical savings while simultaneously benefiting the environment. Accordingly, there is a need for finding a replacement substrate for paper and plastic products. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.